Tag Archives: LGBTQ rights

ABC News reports: Russian security forces raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow Friday night, less than 48 hours after the country’s top court banned what it called the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization. Police searched venues across the Russian capital, including a nightclub, a male sauna, and a bar that hosted LGBTQ+ parties, under the pretext of …

Reuters reports: Russia’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that LGBT activists should be designated as extremists, in a move that representatives of gay and transgender people fear will lead to arrests and prosecutions. A Reuters reporter in court heard it announce that it had approved a request from the justice ministry to recognise what it called “the international LGBT social …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis has decided to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by revoking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month. Francis told a meeting of the heads of Vatican offices last week that he was moving against Burke …

Pew Research reports: Attitudes about same-sex marriage vary widely around the world, according to several Pew Research Center surveys fielded in 32 places in the last two years. Among the surveyed publics, support for legal same-sex marriage is highest in Sweden, where 92% of adults favor it, and lowest in Nigeria, where only 2% back it. In the US, 63% …

The Associated Press reports: Thailand’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved an amendment to its civil code to allow same-sex marriage, with an expectation for the draft to be submitted to Parliament next month. Karom Polpornklang, a deputy government spokesperson, said the amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code will change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” …

NBC News reports: Pop star Taylor Swift notched the highest net favorability rating of any figure tested in the latest NBC News national poll, with 40% of registered voters saying they have a positive view of Swift, versus only 16% holding a negative opinion. Seventeen percent of those surveyed reported having “very positive” views of Swift, while 22% had “somewhat …

McClatchy reports: A salon owner in Michigan banned certain LGBTQ customers, referring them to pet groomers instead, officials said. Now, the establishment faces a discrimination charge. “If a human identifies as anything other than a man/woman, please seek services at a local pet groomer,” Christine Geiger, the owner of Studio 8 Hair Lab, LLC, wrote on Facebook in July. “You …

The BBC reports: Russia’s justice ministry has filed a motion with the country’s Supreme Court to ban the activities of what it calls the “international LGBT public movement” as extremist. It is unclear whether the ministry’s statement refers to the LGBT community as a whole or specific organisations. It said the movement had shown signs of “extremist activity”, including inciting …

The Detroit Free Press reports: A federal lawsuit alleges the city of Hamtramck violated the U.S. Constitution when it passed and enforced a law this summer that banned the display of LGBTQ+, ethnic and political flags on government property. The 223-page suit was filed against the city, Mayor Amer Ghalib and city councilmen on behalf of two former city commissioners …

The Associated Press reports: Hungary’s cultural minister on Monday fired the director of the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, accusing him of failing to comply with a contentious law that bans the display of LGBTQ+ content to minors. The dismissal of Laszlo L. Simon, who became director of the museum for a five-year term in 2021, came after Hungary’s government …

Via press release from the Justice Department: An Oregon man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release for attempting to run over three people with a car as part of a week-long crime spree targeting the LGBTQI+ community around Boise, Idaho, in October 2022. According to court records, on Oct. 8, 2022, while …

Orlando’s ABC affiliate reports: Thousands of people packed downtown Orlando Saturday for the “Come Out With Pride” festival and parade. Two hundred thousand attendees came together to celebrate LGBTQ+ life and culture. Throughout the day, festival grounds at Lake Eola were filled with multiple vendors, live entertainment and family-friendly activities. A sea of people lined the streets around the lake …

The Hill reports: Anti-LGBTQ hate crimes rose sharply in 2022, jumping more than 19 percent over 2021, according to the FBI’s annual crime report released Monday. Hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people were up significantly compared with 2021, with 622 reported single-bias, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes. Hate crimes motivated by an anti-transgender bias rose more than 35 percent year over year, reaching …

Reuters reports: India’s top court on Tuesday declined to legalise same-sex marriage and left it to parliament to decide, agreeing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government that the legislature is the right forum to rule on the contentious issue. The unanimous order by a five-judge bench came as a huge disappointment to the large LGBTQ community in the world’s most …

The Indian legal site Bar And Bench reports: The Supreme Court will deliver on Tuesday its verdict on whether same-sex marriages should be legally recognised in India. A Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha had reserved the verdict on May 11 …

ABC News reports: The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) PAC, the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) Action Fund and Equality PAC, representing three of the nation’s leading LGBTQ+ organizations, endorsed President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign on Tuesday — the eve of National Coming Out Day. “Without question, the Biden Administration has been the strongest advocate for the needs of transgender …

The Associated Press reports: Five conservative cardinals from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas have challenged Pope Francis to affirm Catholic teaching on homosexuality and female ordination ahead of a big Vatican meeting where such hot-button issues are up for debate. The cardinals on Monday published five questions they submitted to Francis, known as “dubia,” as well as an open …

Pink News reports: Candidates were asked their opinions on the contentious parental rights debate, which has seen a growing number of school districts debate whether to introduce policies that would inform parents if a student goes by a gender identity that doesn’t match the gender on their birth certificate. When it came Ramaswamy’s turn to speak, he said: “Transgenderism, especially …

EuroNews reports: Suella Braverman questioned the United Nations Refugee Convention in a speech in Washington, arguing that “simply being gay, or a woman” should not be by itself grounds for international protection. The British government has made the fight against illegal immigration a priority. With a general election due next year, which the opposition party Labour is widely tipped to …

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: When San Francisco’s AIDS Legal Referral Panel was founded 40 years ago by a loose collective of gay attorneys desperate to help ill friends and loved ones, the vast majority of their work was crafting wills for young men, in some cases days before they died. Bill Hirsh, executive director of the nonprofit agency for …